Waterlog

"Waterlog is a classic. Roger Deakin died of cancer in 2006. He was an English naturalist and writer who truly appreciated the beauty of nature and found joy in the smallest things. He built himself a house with a moat, and he loved to swim. He was a rustic, wonderful man who believed in communing and collaborating with nature rather than usurping it. In this book, he documents swimming in Britain’s waterways during a time when wild swimming had not yet become popular. It was an act of defiance against societal norms. Very few people would choose to swim in the Cambridgeshire Fens, which are full of eels. Deakin would swim naked in a lake and write about the feeling of being at one with nature. We tend to view the natural world in terms of what it can provide, whether that’s a finance option in carbon markets or carbon dioxide. We’re always talking about trees in a transactional way. For this reason, I often reflected on this book as I was writing my own. Once, as I was riding the Metro, I suddenly became aware that my hand was holding a pole. I thought, When was the last time I touched something natural? Something uncontaminated by technology? Support Five Books Five Books interviews are expensive to produce. If you're enjoying this interview, please support us by donating a small amount . I could not remember when I had last touched moss, a leaf, or even a drystone wall. I had only touched concrete, pencils, my MacBook, and a metal door. Everything I had touched was branded. I thought, I live on a planet that is sustained by the natural world, and yet I have chosen to immerse myself in this concrete jungle. That started me thinking about how little we value the ebb and flow of nature. We prioritize humans in such a self-important way. Perhaps we should think more like Roger Deakin and see the value and beauty in our waterways. I would also recommend Deakin’s Wildwood , which is about finding community in forests and woods, and Underland by Robert Macfarlane . When we immerse ourselves in nature, we understand that there is always something bigger than we are. When you swim in a river, the river doesn’t care whether you’re a CEO. To nature, you’re nothing. You’re part of the sea or part of the air. You’re part of the woods. It is a very beautiful reminder of being average in a very positive way."